XCOM - Rotting Hero's
by smeehan98
Summary: (One-Shot) To those who know of it's existence, XCOM is humanities first and last line of defence against extra-terrestrial threat. When this threat become's something more in 2015, can XCOM be ready for the coming war? What happens when our best face off against an incomprehensible menace... and lose? Rated T but quite a lot of swearing/gore etc.


**A.N: This is just a quick one-shot based on an Ironman mission I just played. Not identical obviously, but close enough to what actually happened that I can still picture the whole damned clusterfuck.**

**Slight spoilers: There is no bloody chance of me winning this campaign now...**

**XCOM: Rotting Hero's**

**Operation: Rotting Hero Location: Cologne, Germany**

"HQ, this is Big Sky. We have reached the AO." the pilot of the Skyranger's words were punctuated by six intimidating troopers charging out the back of the VTOL towards any cover they could find. Standard operating procedure on these newly named 'Terror Missions'; take cover, figure out where the enemy would be, and then neutralise as quickly as possible. Evacuate all civies as they were found.

Guardian squad were all veterans of the Alien conflict. Despite being only a few months old and only coming together in the past few weeks, they had displayed remarkable skill in resisting alien and UFO assaults. Each had no fewer than ten confirmed kills under their belt, and some of the higher rankers were modestly claiming totals of thirty to fifty each. Even compared to regular XCOM teams, they were in a league of their own. Compared to conventional military and police forces, they were each a Units worth of combat condensed to one super-soldier, equiped with nothing but the finest in human technology.

The Commander and Bradford both looked at the holo-screen back in HQ. Using a global tap for CCTV and indeed all forms of public video footage within Council territory they were able to get a fairly detailed view of any urban location in the world, and then there were the troops own cameras. A nervous wave of silence washed over Control, with all the techs, engineers and soldiers clustered around stations, viewing areas and corridors. This was the second time the Alien's had used full-scale assaults on a city, and last time victory had been secured only by a miraculous shot by 'Nuke', the senior Heavy Weapons Specialist. Two packs of floaters and a cadre of Thin Men had already slaughtered "Gonzo", their run-and-gun, and were set to take out "Sentinel" and the new guy before a rocket screeched through a damaged wall and dropped half the building on them. Sarah, their sniper, was just able to pick off the stragglers before another man died.

Then there had been that...thing. The Commander actually shivered at the memory. Damned bug had crossed a street and torn the rookie into three pieces before the whole team could even react. Then it had somehow stood up to the combined firepower of a light machine gun, assault rifle, shotgun from point blank range and even a .50cal round before Nuke again had to drop it with explosives. It wasn't until the car it was next to exploded before the thing finally stopped moving...scratch that, it was still twitching every now and then in the morgue, a month later.

Granted, in the time since that near-disaster XCOM's technology had undergone huge improvements. Vahlen and Shen's teams had been jointly responsible for the research and development of the most advanced weapons and equipment available to humanity, and aside from Sarah and Spitfire, the entire team on the ground were now equipped with state-of-the-art laser weaponry, and everyone was enjoying the benefits of the new Carapace armour. It shrugged off plasma bolts that would have killed the guys at the start of the war, and at no cost to mobility. Despite this, everyone, especially the troops and commander, knew they were still hopelessly outgunned. It was a competition between luck, skill and ineptitude on the alien's part that anyone had survived to see these upgrades take some of the strain.

The team formed up around Sentinel as the Ranger took off into the night. The scene was eerily quiet. The last terror mission had been a frantic firefight right from the landing, with floaters and thin men at every turn. But today the only noise was the occasional shot in the distance, or sirens blaring away. The only evidence that it was the aliens attacking was the strange objects they dropped on their abduction missions, and this one appeared inactive.

Everyone jumped as a shriek of pure terror echoed out from the hotel in front of them. "Shit! Alright, Central you heard that?" Sentinel spoke quickly into the radio, aware that they didn't have long before something ET and dangerous came looking for them. "Loud and clear...unfortunately. Get your men in there and eliminate any hostiles. Over." Bradford gave the Commander a nervous look before staring back at the holo-screen. Now the most dangerous part of the mission happened - running blind into a room of potential hostiles with no distraction or support aside from the civies, who last time made it abundantly clear how inept they usually were when the shooting started.

Strike-1 pushed to a glass wall, looking into a trashed reception area or something like that. Sentinel pushed furthest in, smashing through the glass panes before diving behind the inconsequential safety of a small table, yelling at a couple of civilians to get the hell out of dodge through his brand new 'door'. As the primary medic and support trooper he was a born sprinter, always at least 3m ahead of the others, which meant point man was also on his list of duties. The logic behind it at Headquarters was that he was non-essential to survival of the group, and the most likely to get back out if he stumbled on a room full of hostiles.

The other members of the team took better cover some ways behind him. The Assault troopers, Tombstone and the not-quite -green Spitfire, held back behind a walled of section to provide cover to the point man, while Sarah busied herself getting set up behind a blown out wreck, with Phantom keeping her safe until she was done. Nuke stayed away from the main group though, flanking 'round to a side doorway on the right hand side of the building, ready to rush in and get the drop on anyone who tried to pin down the main team.

They were just about to move again when a women, the same who'd screamed earlier from the sounds she was making, was thrown violently from the banisters of the second floor. She collided with the wall with a sickening thud, several snapping noises betraying her broken body to the assembled men and women. Rebounding off the wall, she landed somewhere to Sentinels right, though by now everyone was waiting to see what would reveal itself next.

The aliens weren't about to disappoint. Suddenly, the main body of troopers were held up by the large insectoid beings they dealt with on the last Terror zone. But this wasn't one lone hunter. An entire pack of the things descended on the ill-prepared troopers. They came from everywhere: the 2nd floor, the room across the hall, the roof itself. The Commander briefly wondered as to how what appeared to be wild animals had set up so perfect an ambush, but this was quickly replaced by a cold fear as he watched the things enter a gruesome exchange with his men.

As expected, Sentinel reacted with such speed that most wouldn't have realised what was going on. He unleashed a charge of lethal red-beam onto the nearest of the monstrosities, crippling but not quite killing it. Spitfire and Tombstone however, did not have the same luxury of distance; three of the bastards had dropped right on top of them, and they were forced into a mad dash to get away from the kill zone. Tombstone was quick enough to leave a parting gift though, the metal cylinder rolling against one of the things legs as he dove away. The resulting explosion somehow failed to kill any of the bugs, but several limbs were blown spinning into the air, and more importantly the blast opened a hole in the wall.

00000

Nuke just happened to be a few meters behind it.

While the bugs were stunned, he took the opportunity to fire a HE Rocket their way. The projectile flew through the exposed gap, smashing into the wall the Assault troopers had previously been taking cover behind. The injured bugs all disappeared in a ball of fire. The shockwave blew Tombstone forwards, but he was able to recover without serious injury thanks to his armour. The unlucky civilian behind the wall had no such protection though, and was torn apart by the shrapnel.

By now screams and guttural chatter could be heard all around, as the bastards began to wipe out the civies they'd used for bait. One of the bugs rushed Sentinel and took a swipe, but fortunately he dodged just enough that only his armour took any damage. The things claws left a sizzling yellow liquid behind on his armguard though and his armour began to melt slightly. Luckily for him though, Sarah had managed to get set up and put a .50cal straight through his attacker's eye, sending it to the floor in a twisted heap. The almost-dismembered Support used the opportunity to tear off the armoured gauntlet before the corrosive poison reached his skin.

Inexplicably, the rest of the creatures fled the scene as quickly as they'd arrived, retreating back to the room Nuke had been about to enter or up to the second floor again. Now wary of another attack, the men slowly pushed forward, never moving more than one or two meters at a time and within sight of all the others. Save Nuke, who was forced to go blind into a room to the right. Luckily, it was empty of hostiles, but through another door he could see the backyard of the hotel. The sight was awful...

Unarmed men, women and children were being slaughtered by a swarm of the beasts, at least ten of them. The things cleaved through human flesh like butter, before dropping to the ground with their carved up corpses and doing _something_ before moving on to the next victim. In his horror, Nuke momentarily let anger cloud his judgement, letting loose a wild but solid red-glare of laser fire, sweeping across anything that moved. It was a mercy killing compared to the bugs, which themselves quickly became a charred mess under the onslaught, with only one or two escaping to the sides and out of Nukes sight. Finally the beep signalled he was out of charge, but there were several magazines attached to his belt, so reloading wasn't too difficult.

00000

Sentinel was just reaching the carnage when the most powerful blow he'd ever felt smashed into his back. His spine threatened to snap under the force of it and several ribs actually did. Turning as he collapsed, his armor cam picked up the assailant perfectly; the woman who'd died at the start of the ambush. Back at HQ, the Commander whirled round to face Vahlenn, who herself couldn't drag her eyes from the screen. Finally, she spoke "As...unprofessional as it sounds the creatures appear to have turned her into...a...zombie." It was a close thing, but combined fire from Spitfire's rapid-firing shotgun and Phantom's laser rifle were just able to bring the desecrated corpse down again.

00000

Nukes armour cam showed support for the zombie theory, as some of the less burned corpses in the back slowly began to rise, and amble towards the soldier. The man recoiled back further into the building. "Control, you seeing this shit!" he screamed into the mike. Diagnostics in his armor began to screech as his heartbeat rose skyward, but either through sheer discipline or confusion the man managed to bottle the panic down. The Commander almost smiled; this was why Nuke was a major.

"Confirmed soldier." Bradford switched to the squad comm channel so everyone could hear "Strike-1, we have confirmed cases of hostile humans in the AO. Suspect that the aliens are...turning them. Treat them as high threats, but focus on the aliens. And stay the hell away from the bugs."

Sentinel had by this point recovered enough to pull himself away from the main hall into a side alley, where he used on of the new Med-Kits to heal the worst of his injuries. His armour was completely smashed though, with several dents and one armguard missing entirely below the shoulder. He stripped away as much as he could; it hadn't protected him from the things at full-condition, and he needed to be as mobile as possible. He then moved up towards the back, hoping to meet up with Nuke and flank the bastards in a pincer movement.

Having lost Sentinel while distracted with the walking-corpse, Spitfire and Tombstone moved up further. Realising that they hadn't cleared the second floor, tombstone made to move up the staircase, while Spitfire moved to cover Nuke, who was visible through another opening in the wall.

Tombstone had barely made it to the top when something crashed into his body with the force of a small car, threatening to send him clear over the banister, and smashing the camera in his armour. The zombie of a middle-aged man in a suit tried to claw at his face, but he was just able to jam his shotgun under the former humans jaw and pull the trigger. The thing proved more than enough of a distraction for the floors _other_ resident to reach him though. While he was busy wiping the splattered gore from his eyes, the bug speared the trooper through the guts, lifting him several feet of the floor. Everyone heard the scream, but only Sarah saw the event. Tombstone was dragged back into the darkness that engulfed the floor. At HQ, everyone went silent as the pulse flatlined.

00000

"SHIT! ...he's gone. Phantom, get in there and cover Spitfire! Go, I can handle myself!" The silent trooper nodded once before rushing out to link with Spitfire. Like Sentinel, he was born to run, and was quick to reach the now exposed Assault.

The first couple of the 'zombies' (at HQ analysts were working like mad to find a different name for them) had reached the door leading to Nukes location. Again though, he unleashed a withering hail of fire at the targets, sending one to the ground as a charred corpse while the other flinched back with a severed arm and burns across its chest. The step back had put the thing right in the sights of Spitfire, who put it down with a blast to the centre of mass.

Sentinel had by now reached the yard, and seeing the horde still approaching the Heavy, fired a beam into their ranks before running. Several were drawn away by the sound, and what followed became a lethal game of 'Cat and Mouse', with Sentinel easily outrunning the things but limited by the narrow alleys he was navigating.

The three troops still in the building made short work of the zombies still outside, butchering them even as their minds reeled at the horror of it. When it was done, Phantom took off, heading towards the stairs. Spitfire reached to grab him as he scarpered, but he slipped past her. Bradford began yelling down the mike "Phantom, this is Control. What are you doing!? Stay with the others!" The man didn't listen though, muttering something about 'no man left behind' as he reached the stairs.

That was when Tombstone struck. Neither Spitfire nor Sarah had time to react as the bloody Captain leapt over the railing, landing straight on the head of the sprinting trooper. Phantom didn't have time to scream as the zombie grabbed him by the throat. Through his armor cam, Control got a close up of their ex-soldiers face. Tombstones skin had turned green from whatever the bugs had done to him; dark purple veins were threatening to burst just below the surface. But his eyes were red, blood leaking from the tear ducts as well as his nose and ears. The camera cut to static as the creature ripped Phantoms head off, tossing the corpse to the floor.

"No, no, NO!" Spitfire and Sarah both stared in horror as the man they had called friend tore into the body. Neither reacted even as the abomination turned to face Spitfire, and began to amble towards her. Their comrade's blood dripped down Tombstones face and armour, leaving a gory trail as he advanced. At HQ, they could only watch with growing dread as Spitfires pulse soared. But unlike Nuke, Spitfire was still fairly green, her previous assignments never extending beyond Thin-Men and Floaters. So she panicked.

When a soldier panics, one of three things will usually happen. They will either lose all grips on reality, breaking down in a snivelling wreck, or they will fall into a fight-or-flight instinct. Under this instinct, the subject will identify any and all possible threats, regardless of whether it is friend or foe, and will either get the hell away from it, or not rest until it or they lie dead. As it stood, Spitfire could see two things, Nuke and Tombstone.

There is very little which can withstand a point-blank blast from a shotgun. Tombstone was not an exception.

00000

At HQ, Bradford and the Commander were arguing over whether to pull out of the mission. Bradford wanted the troops to retreat to the extraction point with as many civilians as they could get, but the Commander and Vahlen thought otherwise. They argued that:

a) Pulling out would probably eject most of Western Europe from the Council, especially with the new discovery of the zombies.

b) They needed the corpses of both the newly dubbed "Chryssalids" and their kills for research purposes.

c) Most of the hostiles seemed to either have been neutralised or had run off.

Bradford didn't like it, but the Commanders word was law.

00000

Sentinel was in a lot of trouble. He'd looped around several alleys and streets, eventually losing sight of his pursuers (though they were sure to be hot on his heels), and had made it to the alley leading to where he hoped Sarah would be. But at the last second, no less than three of the bugs had dropped from the rooftops in front of him, forcing him behind a large dumpster. They hadn't seen him yet, but they clearly suspected he was there.

_How many of these things are there? We only saw a few when we first got here, and Nuke sent most of 'em heaven bound with the HE._

There wasn't another option for escape. Staying where he was would be suicide, and while he could probably outrun the things for a time if he ran back the way he came, he was too tired, injured and far from support to last long. Not to mention the pack of walkind-dead he'd left there... So the only chance he had was to gun it right past and hope.

_Well God, we all know you're gonna fuck with me on this don't we. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. And I'm dying a Catholic._

"Squad..." he whispered into the mike, fully aware of how close he was to a pack of fully alert predatory aliens. "This is Sentinel, signing out..." Both in HQ and the squad (even Spitfire), everyone stopped what they were doing.

Control was the first to respond. "Wait, Sentinel. Hold there, we'll find you another route or get you support or -"

Sentinel chuckled "Too late for that Bradford. Don't go getting this lot killed trying to save my hide. I owe them too much."

There was a pause on the other end of the line "...alright. Give 'em hell."

"You know it. Oh and Commander, he's done good. Better than anyone else could that's for sure" the Major switched to squad channel.

Sarah was the first to speak, emotion clearly audible in her voice. "James...what are you doing?"

Though he knew she couldn't see it, he allowed a grim smile to surface. "My job. And giving you lot a nice train of hostiles to plink at. Blow a couple 'a heads of for me will you darling'. Don't worry about me. I'll get through." The response was a sob crossed with a laugh, and then she spoke again "You bet..." she sighed "Promise me...promise me you'll make it."

He looked down. He knew the odds.

He tuned her mike out, ignoring the screams of protest as she realised what he'd done. Switching to Nukes private channel he spoke.

"Hey little brother..."

"Sir? Are you sure about this? I can be there in a few seconds!" Nuke's voice may have been less broken than Sarah's, but he was still clearly feeling it.

"No Mike. Even if you get here in time you'll just be one more meal. Get out of here. Get everyone else out of here. You have command." James's voice dropped to a whisper "And...take care of her. Alright?"

"I'll get her out James, but you're still in command. You ain't dead yet."

Another light chuckle from Sentinel. The bugs were right infront of the dumpster now, and he could hear the corpses he'd left behind beginning to filter into the alley as well. "Hah... guess not. Spitfire? You there?"

"Sir?" she replied, still shaken from Tombstones death but clearly recovering.

"You've done me proud. Tear the bastards a new one on the way out will ya?"

"Sir, yes Sir!" Nuke almost chuckled when he saw the younger soldier physically salute to match the words.

_Good, well that's it for goodbyes_

Sentinel reached down into the pockets of his under armour, retrieving the grenade he hid down there. As a Medic, it paid to have explosives, and he thanked whatever God there may be that he'd thought to extend the pockets of his armour to accompany that. Taking three rapid breaths, he turned to corner of the dumpster, tossing the 'nade as he went. Then everything became a blur.

_At HQ, the assembled staff watched anxiously as their best operative made his move. The Chryssalid's had moved up the alley towards his location, but like moths to a light they all leapt towards the bouncing metal orb that distracted them with its loud clinking along the ground._

_Sentinel was already running when the grenade exploded, engulfing the trio in front of him. Behind, the vanguard of the horde rushed into the narrow street, concentrating on nothing but the fleeing trooper ahead of them. One of the bugs was killed outright by the explosion, its broken corpse flying over the man's head and crashing into the zombies behind him. Though he didn't see it Central watched with some degree of satisfaction when one of the creature's legs speared two zombies to the wall._

_Another Chryssalid quickly fell from the beam of his rifle, but the third used the spilt second he wasted to fire well. It pulled itself from the asphalt even as the man swept past, quickly entering a pursuit._

_Neither hunter nor prey was at their peak, so it would be a race to see who made it to the exit first. Several times it seemed the human would be caught like a rat, but somehow he always pulled ahead, and was now only meters from the exit and welcome support of Sarah's .50 ._

_A collective gasp rose from them all as a chunk of roof tile, loosened from the blast, crashed onto Sentinels unarmoured body. The impact would have killed most men, and just the fact that the man remained standing was practically a miracle in itself. But regardless, the chase was over. The oversized bug charged into the stricken soldier, its momentum carrying both clear out of the alley._

_Sarah reacted with incredible speed, having been watching for one of them to emerge for some time. The aliens head exploded in a shower of gore. It was too late though. The Major laid face down some meters away; a hole through his lungs and in a growing pool of his own blood. The pulse flatlined, and another camera cut out on the screen._

00000

It had been only a few minutes since their their leader had fallen, but Guardian Squad had regained some control over the situation, if the interpreter was optimistic. The sniper had unleashed hell on the slow moving zombies that stumbled out of the alley, and the others had contented themselves with wiping several more on their way back to the Skyranger.

"Nuke, you see this corpse." Spitfire asked, prodding one of the dead civies with her boot. Nuke sighed in exasperation "Fucking what Spitfire. Half of 'em are bloody zombies. i.e. the walking motherfucking dead! And you're bothering me 'bout one of the normal ones" Spitfire visibly shrunk under his rant, but he couldn't help himself at this point. The whole bloody mission had become a clusterfuck.

"Sorry sir. But you really have to look at-" She cut off mid-sentence as the body she prodded _erupted._ Insectoid legs burst from its torso, shredding through the necrotic flesh with ease, until all that was left was scraps of skin scattered around the blood-drenched thing that emerged.

"SHIT! SPITFIRE GET AWAY!" the Heavy yelled, even as he bodily threw the younger soldier out of harm's way. The hatchling came out running, quickly closing the distance between the man and its still hardening carapace. A few of the poorly aimed lasers from his gun tore into the beast, but in the end it had been too much of a surprise for Nuke to score anything lethal.

The sound of a small explosion filled his ears, as Spitfire unleashed hell on the Hatchling with her shotgun. The thing was blown to the side by the impact of several minute ball-bearings ripping through its hide, and it collapsed to the floor in a heap.

00000

HQ was in uproar. At the latest revelation, it became clear to everyone that XCOM didn't have the resources to deal with a threat of this magnitude. Aliens alone had been nigh on impossible to challenge, but beings that could turn their best against them, then breed new soldiers from their remains… It was the ultimate weapon. One the aliens had just pulled the trigger on, with the barrel aimed squarely at humanities head.

Bradford spoke the only other thought on anyone's minds at that point "All survivors, get to the extraction point. We are bugging out of this one!"

00000

It wasn't over. Several more corpses around them began to tremble and convulse, as the parasites inside fought to tear free from the host's they'd destroyed in every sense of the word.

"Spit... Get the hell out of here. NOW!" Nuke called, readying his Heavy Laser for the last wave. His subordinate turned obligingly and fled the room, but it was only when she realised Nuke wasn't with her that she realised what he'd done.

There was a sturdy iron bar, likely a part of the foundations, lying on the floor. Nuke saw it and slid it between the door handles leading outside. It wouldn't keep the things in for long, but it would hopefully give enough time for the girls to get an extraction. As it was, it was the best he could do in the time he had left.

Even as she ran, Spitfire could hear every shot being fired, to make sure that she and anyone still alive had time for an extraction. After about thirty seconds of near continuous fire, the shots were replaced with one huge explosion, as the shredder rocket tore into the foundations of the room he'd been in. Spitfire only ran harder.

00000

Big-Sky circled over the burning wreck of the area surrounding the AO. After resistance was stopped, the aliens had arrived in force, sending drop-pods, transports, and worse to neutralise the city in its entirety. Cologne was burning.

Sighing softly to himself, he turned on autopilot back to the HQ, following protocol via travel to several random rural locations till he was certain thet he wasn't being followed. The man opened the door to the cargo hold.

He glanced mournfully at the two body bags on the benches. He'd been friends with several of the troops on Guardian.

When the Skyranger had arrived, it had already been too late for them. They must have held out for some time, as the corpses of a number of Chryssalids, both hatchlings and full-grown, were scattered in pieces around the landing zone. But their corpses had been the only human forms to greet him. He'd only had enough time to get them on board before the chattering began and he took off again. The others were still down there, if anything was left of them…

Turning away from the corpses, the pilot wandered back into the cockpit, Shutting the door behind him.

Almost immediately after his departure, one of the bags began to convulse wildly.

The long, blood-drenched spear of a bony limb tore through the fabric of the bag. The creature hissed.

_After the Cologne mission, XCOM was left with a crippling lack of experienced soldiers and resources. Because of this, despite the Alien's Base being discovered and the Skeleton Key built just days later, there was no chance of us ending the war with a victory. XCOM had access to the finest personnel and equipment available to the whole of humanity, but without the excellence of Guardian Squad even that wasn't enough to stop the inevitable._

_Soon after, the Council of Nations fell apart. Europe quickly diverted funding as the seemingly unstoppable onslaught of Chryssalid's spread ever further, but in the end it was natural barriers which checked the tide. While their masters may have been decades ahead of humanity, the Bugs were still little more than their terrestrial brethren in regards to planning. The English Channel, Himalayan Mountains and the Fertile Crescent were too difficult or easily fortified for the hunters to cross, though Africa and to a slightly lesser extent Asia was still devastated the UFO assaults. But for the rest of the mainland; France, Germany, Russia... there's still nothing left all these years later. Chryssalids own that region now. We call it the Hive region._

_On the fourth month of the conflict, new alien species began to appear, displaying shocking abilities ranging from incredible strength and combat prowess to psychological manipulation, further dooming the planet. XCOM was finally shut down for good, as increasing panic across all continents ensued and countries began to recluse themselves, focusing only on their own defence._

_In this state of division, the Aliens unleashed their final blow on humanity. A vessel, several miles end-to-end, and armed with unparalled weapons of mass destruction, rose from the ocean. In one co-ordinated strike, two thirds of the remaining human population was wiped out, either killed or abducted to feed the being housed within the ship._

_And then one day, it all stopped. The UFO's left, just as they had done with countless civilisations before us. T'leth, the 'Terror from the Deep' as it had come to be known, rose into the sky and vanished, leaving the few survivors to ponder what had occurred, and why they were still alive._

_Today the Earth is a wasteland. What the Alien's didn't take from humanity, they destroyed. Every city on Earth was pounded into dust and ruin in the final attack, and even after they left humanity continued to suffer. With no leadership or co-ordination the people of Earth degenerated to the tribe like state they had once lived in, albeit with better technology than those days. An era of constant war between neighbouring towns, mercenary groups and wandering raiders followed, as the last of us fought desperately to survive with the limited resources._

_The sad part is the aliens didn't even pick up all of their own. To this day bands of Sectoids, Mutons, Floaters or worse can occasionally be found. When that happens, it's always bloody, with only the strongest of groups able to take on even a single Muton, and even then usually with massive casualties._

_But we're recovering. Slowly, but surely, we're dragging ourselves out of the muck those bastards bombed us into. As I write this, factions in the US, Britain, China, Australia and the African continent are reclaiming land at a steady rate, bringing order to the anarchy. However I must wonder what will happen when these factions meet. Will they negotiate in civilised manners, or will the inevitable conflict of interests prove too much as it has before. They do say war never changes..._

_Unfortunately, that is another story for another time, and I fear I will not live to see it._

_**Log Entry: 04/23/56 - David Hoff Bradford**_

**A.N: So yeah, I got royally fucked over on this mission. Not joking when I say even on normal difficulty it is IMPOSSIBLE to win against 5 separate groups of Chryssalids in a tight map, when ALL of them are revealed in the same turn, in the room where 60% of the civies decided would be fun to hide out at. Maybe if I had access to plasma and titan/archangel armor, but as I said this was before the bloody base mission, so I had carapace armour, laze rifles and heavy laze, and that's it. **

**P.S I'm not joking when I say that there were no other enemies. The ONLY hostiles on that mission were Chryssalids, or the zombies they made of said 60%.**

**Even though this is a one-shot, please rate and review to help out. It's always greatly appreciated, and I will try an reply if the review is of sufficient substance.**

**Oh and I've had an idea to create a crossover of XCOM and Fallout. The ideas just fit too well. Both have Laser's, Plasma, Power armor, robotic combat, aliens and the Wasteland is a fairly good idea for what the Earth could look like after the Ethereal's left. Vaults could easily be transferred to XCOM bases or actual vaults designed to hide humans from the Alien even Bioshock fits to a small degree.**

**So yeah, would be nice to know your opinions on that idea.**

**Thanks a lot for reading. I hope I'll see you on my other fics or your own again soon!**


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